Moments
by Strawhat-Nakama
Summary: 30 little oneshots about Zoro and Robin. AU
1. Footsie

**So I've finally decided to write a fanfic! This was originally going to be SanjixNami but…meh. Every scenario I made up for them somehow ended in Sanji's usual dorky praise for Nami (Unless it was angsty) so I'm gonna have to work on that pairing a bit more before I'm ready to write about them.**

**AU because I felt like it.**

**Enjoy!**

-  
><em><span>Footsie<span>_

She was doing it again. Zoro stared at Robin, who just smiled at him and carried on eating her food. Every time they all had dinner together, Robin thought it would be fun to play footsie with him under the table. Yes, they were dating, but they had both agreed to wait a while before telling anyone. By doing this, they risked getting caught by either someone spotting what was going on under the table, or Zoro being asked about the interesting shade of pink his face had taken on.

There were only so many times he could give the excuse that it was too damn hot.

When she excused herself to go to the bathroom, Zoro decided that it might be time to give into the game. He never played footsie back, just sat there and watched her enjoy his embarrassment. Well, not this time! He grinned at the thought of her surprised face when she sat back down.

"Zoro, what are you smiling about?" Chopper asked, looking at the man a little nervously. It wasn't often that Zoro smiled like that, if at all.

Damn! Letting his glee get the better of him like that. "Ah, it's nothing. Just remembered that time last week when Dartboard-Eyebrow over there fell flat on his face." "OI! Be grateful that I even let you into my house tonight to eat, shitty Marimo!" Sanji said, glaring at him. "Anyway, it wasn't my fault that _somebody _left their freaking huge toolbox just lying there in the middle of the hallway." His glare turned to Franky, who just gave him a thumbs up before carrying on a conversation with Usopp. Sanji returned to his food, grumbling.

Robin came in and sat back down. Aha! This was his chance! Zoro reached his leg out until he found another one and almost grinned again in triumph. He ran his foot up and down, until he noticed that Robin…was not reacting at all?

Oh shit.

"What. The hell. Are you. DOING?" Sanji practically screamed, his face going bright red, whether it was from anger or embarrassment, Zoro wasn't sure. Possibly both. The next fifteen minutes were spent with the Zoro blocking Sanji's kicks, trying to give an explanation, while everyone else either protected their food or nearly killed themselves laughing.

Still laughing, and wiping a tear from her eye, Robin decided her poor boyfriend had had enough torture for one night. "I'm afraid this whole mess is my fault, Cook-san." "WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIN-What do you mean, Robin-chan?" He stopped his assault and looked at her, confused.

The next few moments were spent with Nami trying to convince Sanji that refusing Zoro food for a whole year for 'Seducing his poor, sweet Robin-chan' was just a bit harsh, while everyone else either congratulated the pair or snuck off to the fridge to eat some more. (Namely Luffy)

And that was how everyone found out about Roronoa Zoro and Nico Robin.

**So happy I finally wrote this one down!**

**I like the FrankyxRobin pairing as well as ZoroxRobin, (they're both too adorable damnit) but decided I'd save any FrankyxRobin fics for another time :) **


	2. Injury

**Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and favourite alerts I received for the first chapter! It really made me happy that people had enjoyed my first stab at fanfiction.**

**Enjoy!**

_Injury  
><em>

"You shouldn't rush about like that, you'll do yourself an injury." Robin said calmly, not even looking up from her book.

Zoro made a sound of disbelief at his girlfriend's words. "The amount of scrapes I get into with random assholes and how often do you see me needing to do anything but have a nap to get better? Exactly."

"Yes, but when you're fighting them, you have at least a bit of focus, but right now you're just a normal, panicked man running around with one shoe on, not paying attention to anything." She returned to her book, a small smile on her face.

He didn't have time for this. And where the hell was his shoe? He was already running late and couldn't afford to have Nami slap another debt onto him for failing to help out at some stupid event Sanji was catering for. Then he saw it, peeking out from underneath the bed. Glancing at the clock, he smiled. There was still hope; he could make it in time!

Sprinting for the bedroom, Zoro failed to notice the slightly raised floorboard he had been meaning to get fixed for months.

_1 and a half hours and a very pissed off Nami and Sanji later..  
><em>

"Will you really be able to sleep this one off, dear?"

"Shut up. I don't see what's so funny." Zoro grumbled, looking at the thick bandages wrapped around his toe with a scowl on his face. Robin just giggled. Poor Zoro, he'd broken his toe by tripping on the floorboard and had to endure Sanji's hysterical laughter, Usopp snorting when he found out how he had done it, Luffy's (painful) prodding of said toe and Chopper and Nami's lectures on why he shouldn't be so careless. It wasn't even lunchtime yet and it had already been a long day for the green-haired man.

Still smiling, Robin leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I suppose now would be a bad time to say 'I told you so?'" She resisted the urge to start laughing at the look of complete outrage on his face. "Say that again and I'll..I'll.."

"You'll what? Limp after me at top speed?" Okay, maybe that one had been a bit of a low blow. She gently ruffled his hair and spoke softly. "I'll get you some Sake, that sound good?" Immediately, Zoro's face brightened up, no matter how hard he tried to keep the scowl there. "Y-you wanna have some with me?" He mumbled. Robin smiled at how easily she had been forgiven. "Of course. I was also thinking that maybe we could rent a movie tonight? One of those old Samurai ones you love so much."

The disbelief on his face was almost comical. Robin hardly ever agreed to watch those movies with him! And here she was offering him Sake and practically insisting they watch stuff he liked!

Later on, as the movie finished, Zoro noticed the near-empty bottle of booze, a sleeping Robin on his shoulder, the insanely comfortable blanket and pillows surrounding them and his bad foot propped up on the coffee table. Before falling asleep, he smiled and thought, "Maybe this injury thing isn't all that terrible..."

The sharp throbbing in his toe just then reminded him why it was.

**Oh gosh I don't know, I'm writing this at 2am. The next chapter will hopefully be more fluffy instead of just another round of Zoro-abuse..**

**Just so you're aware, not all the chapters will be in chronological order. They're all mish-mashed and jumbled about because inspiration hits at random times, I may get an idea for a oneshot about Zoro and Robin at the beginning of their relationship for one chapter, and get another idea for them pretty far down the line for the next one. It's the way the cookie's gonna crumble for this fic**.


	3. Odd

**Hello there, my lovely readers! Thank you again for the good reviews about this fic, it's you guys who keep me motivated.**

**Now this chapter doesn't really tie in with the others, I just wanted to write a cute moment between them as kids, so I guess you could call it an AU within an AU…? In the rest of the chapters Zoro and Robin will have only met well into adulthood.**  
><strong>Enjoy!<strong>

_Odd_

"Freak!"

"Weirdo!"

"Oh my, that's the Nico girl, isn't it? She's an odd one."

10 year old Robin did her best every day to just not listen. She wasn't even sure if she cared anymore. After a few years, the verbal, and sometimes physical, abuse she received became repetitive and almost a part of daily life. She'd learnt that as long as she kept her head down and didn't retaliate, they'd tire and go away for a while.

Her Father had caused a bit of a scandal when she was a baby by running away with his brother's wife, and her Mother died in an accident a few years later, leaving Robin in the care of her resentful Uncle, who only saw her as a reminder of the ugly past. His anger towards her was echoed by the majority of the townspeople who saw her as a burden on her "poor uncle", and of course, their attitude only rubbed off onto their children, who found her Devil-Fruit power perfect ammunition.

"Hey Freak, I hear you can multiply stuff like your hands. Here's a suggestion, grow yourself another face, but make it better looking this time!"

She just buried her face in her book and tried to ignore the feeling of her eyes welling up. After school was always the worst, they always tried to take it out on her after school.

"Haha! Yeah and maybe you should-OUCH, HEY!"

There were more yells of protest and dull thud sounds. Robin looked up and saw an angry looking boy with bright green hair holding a couple of Bokken. He was about her age, maybe a bit younger. Ah! She had seen this boy before! He was usually getting into fights at school or hanging around the dojo a few streets away. He scowled at the boys who had been taunting her. "Your voices get on my nerves so badly. I was trying to take a goddamn nap over there." He pointed to a shady spot underneath a tree next to the riverbank. "Best napping spot I've found in ages and you turds had to go and ruin it!" He raised his Bokken again and glared. The boys turned and ran. "Y-you'll regret this, Roronoa!" One of them yelled.

"Tch, idiots." He muttered. He then turned to Robin. "Why the hell didn't you stick up for yourself? I heard what they were saying. You have a Devil Fruit power, right? Use that to teach them a lesson!" Robin, who had been sitting there in shock, managed to snap herself out of it to reply. "If I hit them back or say stuff, they'll just tell and I'll be the only one getting in trouble.."

The green-haired boy looked at her for a few moments, and then sighed. "Whatever. Just don't expect me to be around the corner every time you get picked on. Try and fight back a bit next time, yeah?"

Robin smiled at him. "I'll try, thank you." She packed her book into her bag and turned to go home. He blushed slightly, how long had it been since someone had said thank you to him? Long enough for him to have almost forgotten the words existed. He didn't talk to many people at the dojo; well…not since Kuina had died anyway. "Ah, your name. What is it?" She suddenly turned and asked. "Why d'you wanna know?" He looked at her suspiciously. She just smiled and shrugged. "It'd be nice to know my friend's name." Friend? Oh gosh. Fine. "Roronoa Zoro." He told her after a long pause. Her smile grew larger. She thanked him again and turned to go home.

A week later, Zoro and Robin hadn't seen each other since the incident. Then one day, Zoro was walking from school to go to the dojo and saw her walking up the road, face hidden by a book. "Oi, you'll walk into something and get a big, black eye if y-woah." Robin's face had shot up from the book at the sound of his voice, revealing one of the worst black eyes Zoro had ever seen.

"What the hell happened to you?" He gasped when he got closer. "I, um, stuck up for myself…" She said a bit sheepishly. Zoro almost facepalmed. "Right. That's it. From now on, we walk back from school together." Her eyes went wide. Then she looked sad. "Hey, come on, I'm not that awful to be around!" He said indignantly. "Oh no no it's not that! It's just…If you hang around with me, people will say you're odd too.." She looked like she hated herself.

"Don't be stupid. Do I look like the type of person who cares what people in this dumbass town think? The scowl was back again. Even so, Robin felt at ease with this boy, like she could actually be happy when she talked to him. "I don't think so."

"Right, just be by the gate after school tomorrow, okay?" She nodded.

From then on, the two of them were pretty much always seen together. It puzzled everyone who came across them. Was it because they were both lonely? Did they genuinely enjoy each other's company? To the people in the town, it seemed like a very odd friendship.

One day, about a year or so later, the pair were sitting by the riverbank, under Zoro's favourite shady tree. The teasing hadn't stopped, not by a long shot, but Zoro had made sure nobody ever touched Robin again.

"Hey, Zoro…"

"What?"

"Do _you _think I'm weird?"

He sat up and looked at her. "You need to stop listening to those idiots, Robin. No, I'll admit, you're not exactly 'Normal', but neither am I! I have green hair and carry around swords, for crying out loud! Who wants to be normal anyway? Who even knows what that means anymore? You're the smartest kid I know, you know all these cool things about history I bet nobody else in the town does and you have a Devil-Fruit power which let's you grow hands and feet out of anything, anywhere! Yeah sure, you're not like everyone else, but that's actually for the better, because you're cooler than they'll ever be."

His face then grew hot. "A-and they're l-lying when they say you're ugly, b-because you're not!"

Robin sat there astonished; she shuffled closer to Zoro and suddenly threw her arms around him.

"H-h-hey! What the hell are you doing?" The boy's face was really red now.

She let go of him, but smiled the biggest, happiest, most un-Robin like smile he'd ever seen.

Zoro couldn't help but grin back. He'd never admit it, but there was nobody else in the entire world he would rather spend his days with than her right now.

**Oh my goodness this took a long time! I'm so sleepy…**

**I'm aware of the age gap between Zoro and Robin, but every now and then you have no choice but to tweak things to make them work heh..**

**Until next time, lovely readers!**


	4. Argument

**Why hello there!**

**Thank you all again for the reviews, it really does make my day when I log on and find out people have been reading and enjoying my stories.**

**Italics indicate a flashback!**

_Argument_

They hadn't ever argued like this before. Yes, there had been little disputes over silly things like mess in the apartment or the contents of the fridge or whose turn it was to go out and get the weekly groceries, but it had never gotten to this point before.

They hadn't spoken in almost a week, and Zoro knew it was his fault.

It had all started the previous weekend:

"_I can't believe you sometimes." Robin said with a sigh. "You need to control your temper around other people! Especially people I work with!" _

_Zoro, still irritated from his fight with one of the men who worked with Robin at the museum – Spanda or whatever his name was- just glared. "He was talking to you like you were a piece of shit, Robin, and you know it. How can he expect to just say that kind of stuff and get away with it?"_

"_Because" she sighed again. " It was obvious Spandam would never try that kind of stuff at work because it's pointless, he's practically at the bottom of the gutter when it comes to importance amongst staff. But he knew you wouldn't stand for something like that. He knew it would get a reaction from you, leaving YOU responsible for starting the fight, which leaves ME to sort out the mess and practically mollycoddle him so that you weren't reported. He hung the bait in front of your face and you took it, Zoro!" Her voice had risen as she went on._

_The argument carried on for another 15 minutes, Robin chastising him for his behaviour, Zoro refusing to believe he was in the wrong and trying to make her understand. Both of them getting angrier and louder with every minute. _

_Then Zoro said the words he instantly regretted._

"_You have this knack of just sitting there and taking crap! That's pretty much the summary of your relationships with Crocodile and Lucci, right?"_

_A stunned silence fell between the two. Zoro began to stutter out his apology. "Robin, I-I.." "You know about that situation." She said quietly, not looking at him. "You know I wasn't with them for the fun of it, how I had no choice." She looked at him, and Zoro saw that although she was suddenly calm and composed, her eyes were the angriest he had ever seen them. She was the first to move, walking past him towards their room. _

"_Robin-!" _

"_Just leave me alone for a while." She said quietly, slamming the door behind her._

_Zoro felt like kicking himself. What had possessed him to say that? He knew all about her past, how she had had to associate herself with the worst of society just to stay alive. One of the things Robin really admired him for was how he never brought it up or judged her for it, and now he had gone and blown that. _

_Letting out a sound of frustration, he grabbed his coat and shoes, deciding that he needed a walk and a strong drink. Badly. _

_When he returned a few hours later, feeling worse than he did when he left, Zoro crept into their room and found Robin already asleep. She would never admit it if he asked her, but it was obvious she had been crying at some point.  
><em>

"_Shit." He thought. "I've really screwed up."_

It had been that way for days now. Neither went to bed at the same time, and getting out of bed around the same time was out of the question. They'd leave short notes if one was going out and anything needed doing around the apartment, but would never actually talk. Robin and Zoro were avoiding each other, because they had absolutely no idea how to deal with their first fight.

Zoro came home from work; it had been a tough day. Well, any day was a tough day when you were with a hyper Luffy for the majority of it. All he wanted to do was grab a beer and throw himself on the couch, and just not move ever again. Just as he opened the door, He came face to face with Robin.

They both froze. So many things ran through Zoro's head. Should he bolt? No! That'd just make things even more awkward! They both looked at each other, every now and then Robin would open her mouth as if to say something, but would shut it again. Finally, she turned to walk away.

"WAIT!"

Before Zoro even realised what he was doing, he had reached forward and grabbed her hand.

"Zoro, what-?"

"I'm sorry." He said, still holding her hand. "You were right, I should've thought first instead of just lashing out, I'm so sorry for saying those stupid things, I've never wanted to take my words back so much in my entire life, believe me! I hate all this tip-toeing around eachother we've been doing just because I'm an idiot-"

"No, I should be sorry too!" She interrupted, looking relieved. "Yes, I was upset by what you said but the way I've been behaving about it is ridiculous. It was a stupid argument that should've been over and done with ages ago!

At some point during her apology, without even realising it she had thrown her arms around him. To hell with it, Zoro thought, and he kissed her, putting every emotion he felt towards her into it. She kissed him back, holding him as close as she could.

They broke apart after a few moments. With a mischievous glint in her eye, she glanced over to the bedroom. Within seconds Zoro had her up and over his shoulder and was practically running over to the room.

"Apology accepted." She thought with a smile.

**I tried hard not to make them too OOC here, so I'm really sorry if you feel that they are! This chapter was a challenge for me, but I'm glad I got it done.**

**Until next time~**


	5. Storm

**Yo~!**

**Apologies, because this one is extremely short. I'm just about to go to bed and thought I'd quickly write one out for you guys. ^_^**

**Enjoy!**

_Storm_

She couldn't help but tense up whenever the thunder got really loud, the flashes of lightening too frequent.

Robin wasn't scared of the thunderstorm, (She'd had to sleep outside in quite a few of them in her darker days) it just made her feel uneasy. It was just that the rumbling of the thunder reminded her too much of the destruction of her home, every time she shut her eyes she clearly remembered the flames and explosions, and everyone's screams as they tried to save themselves, but failed.

Another clap of thunder. This one was so loud it rattled the windows. Robin gripped the duvet and tried to think of anything other than Ohara. She then felt a pair of warm, strong arms slowly come around from behind her, pulling her closer to their owner.

"It'll pass soon, don't worry." Said Zoro sleepily. He placed a kiss on her shoulder, and was fast asleep again within a few minutes.

Robin shuffled closer towards his warmth. She slowly began to relax, and soon both of them were asleep, all worries and fears completely forgotten until morning.

**D'aww Zoro..**


	6. Rival

**Hello there, my fantastic readers!**

**Blehhh it's so cold and gloomy everywhere right now, here's another chapter to hopefully brighten your day. ^_^**

_Rival_

Zoro took in the scene around him. He and the rest of their friends had come to cheer Robin on as her and her archaeology team opened up a new exhibit at the museum. Their hard work had paid off as the exhibit, which featured various artefacts from Ancient Skypiea, was met with plenty of applause and congratulations. They'd all hardly had time to speak to Robin as she kept being whisked away to speak to people interested in her work. Zoro sighed. At this point, he'd like nothing more than to be at home (in clothes he was actually comfortable in, not this stiff suit) with some booze, watching the World Kendo Championships on TV. He could easily do that, but he knew how hard Robin had worked on this, and how hurt she would be if he just showed his boredom and went home, so he stayed.

He managed to stay entertained by occasionally looking at the exhibit, and talking to his friends, but eventually Nami, Sanji and Chopper went home, then Usopp and Kaya. Brook had to drag a very drunk Franky out before he embarrassed everyone by exposing himself, and finally, sneaking some food into his pockets, Luffy went home. "Great." Zoro thought. He looked at the clock and his mood lifted slightly. At least it was only half an hour until they got to go home.

That's when he saw it. This annoyingly handsome guy laughing with Robin, she was laughing and chatting back, and then his arm was around her shoulders, and she was showing no signs of wanting him to back off.

Zoro was over there faster than you could say Santoryuu.

Noticing him beside her, Robin exclaimed "Ah, Zoro! This is my friend, Dan. He's part of the team who went with me when we travelled to Skypiea for research. Dan, this is my boyfriend, Zoro."

"Nice to meet you!" Dan grinned at him, holding his hand out. Zoro accepted the handshake but the smile he attempted was more of a grimace. Robin noticed and raised an eyebrow, but Dan carried on as if nothing was the matter. "Robin-chan's told us so much about you, you're a cop, right?"

Robin-chan? As much as he hated to admit it, Sanji was the only one who could get away with that nickname. "Detective." Zoro said, his fake smile verging on being scary. "Oh yeah, that's right. Robin says you're partners with Detective Luffy? I think that's so awesome, you guys have solved so many high profile cases –"

As Dan carried on chatting, Zoro realised that maybe if he wasn't ticked off, he would actually really like the guy. But right now, Dan was a little too unfamiliar with him and a little too touchy-feely with Robin for his liking.

Robin, noticing the vein in Zoro's temple become slightly more prominent, decided it was time to go. "Ah, it's so late! I can't believe I didn't notice the time. Dan, it's been lovely to see you tonight, say hello to the family for me!"

"Will do, Robin-chan. Take care! You too, Zoro!" He said with a grin. Zoro grimaced back at him.

"You're sulking." She said calmly as they walked up the stairs to their apartment. "I am not." He mumbled back. "You're sulking, because you looked at Dan like there was a stick up your backside, and on the way home you barely spoke. Oh, and your face looks like the one you pulled when I accidentally recorded over your sports game on the TV the other day."

He groaned. "It's just that Dan guy! I was fine until I saw the two of you so cosied up together! He was clearly flirting with you and it pissed me off, okay?" She looked at him for a moment before saying "Zoro, were you seriously jealous of Dan?"

He looked away, embarrassed. "Yeah I guess I was."

Robin blinked at him… and then started giggling. "W-what's so funny?" He demanded, completely confused now.

"Oh Zoro, you are adorable." She smiled at him. "He would never flirt with me, because firstly, he knows better than that, and secondly, I don't think his partner _John _would be very pleased."

"But-Wait, what?" He stared at her, dumbfounded.

She laughed again at the look on his face. "Yes, John. He's a very lovely man. They're celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary next week, isn't that nice?"

"But you said something to him about family?" Zoro had turned an amusing shade of pink. "Yes, they adopted a little girl a couple of years back and they have a dog. The amount of times in a day Dan shows us pictures of them, it's quite cute." She noticed how Zoro suddenly resembled a guilty looking child.

He cleared his throat. "Well, um, these things are hard to guess sometimes! So I..um.." She smiled, but Zoro noticed this one was different to the others, and he didn't like it.

"Nami is going to absolutely love this story."

"What? No, Robin! You can't tell her! She'll twist it and make it sound 10x worse than it actually is! She'll tell everyone!"

Robin walked into the apartment with the same evil little smile on her face. "I wonder how Cook-san would react? I doubt he'd stop teasing you for at least a week or so…"

"Nooooooooooooo!"

**I'm kinda not happy with how this one turned out, I don't feel like I got their personalities quite right for some reason. Ah well.**

**Zoro's job is a reference to the Grand Jipangu fillers (If you haven't seen them, do so now!) where Luffy is a detective. Since Zoro is the first mate of the Mugiwara crew, it's only fair that he's Luffy's partner in this AU haha.**


	7. Aquamarine

_Aquamarine_

"This one?"

"Usopp, that's identical to the one you got Kaya. No."

"Zoro! How about this one?"

"Luffy, that diamond's about the size of her head. Besides the fact that I can't afford it, she wouldn't be able to lift her hand."

"Sanji-kun, aren't these the earrings I was looking at the other day?"

"Nami! We're not here for you! You're supposed to be helping me choose an engagement ring!"

"Zoro, look!"

"Chopper, that's nice, but I don't think she'd appreciate a mood ring."

Zoro was at his wits end. How could choosing the right engagement ring for Robin be so damn difficult? Whenever he saw a nice one, it was _way_ out of his price range. Either that or it was just a terrible ring. Who the hell designed some of these anyway?

He wandered around some more, and after a few minutes, he saw it.

It was on a stand in the far corner of the shop. Far away from the huge rocks that adorned all the other rings. "This one. This is the right one." He said. The rest of them came rushing over and stared at it. "It's beautiful, Zoro." Nami said in a hushed voice. "It reminds me of Robin-chan for some reason, I can't seem to put my finger on it though..." Sanji said, puzzled.

"Her eyes." Zoro replied with a smile. The ring he had chosen was a silver band with a round Aquamarine gemstone on it, around the gem were a few tiny diamonds, which made it sparkle even more. The shade of blue the stone had was the exact colour of Robin's eyes, and Zoro knew it was perfect.

Thankfully, the ring was affordable, and he walked out of the jewellery store feeling proud. "Now for the hard part, Marimo." Laughed Sanji, clapping him on the shoulder.

He had never been more nervous in his entire life.

**Aww Zoro, don't be so nervous, we all know she's going to say yes! ^_^**

**In contrast to that trainwreck of a last chapter, I'm really happy with this one! I hope you all enjoyed it too.**


	8. Fever

**Hello my darling Nakama~**

**It's bloody freezing outside! Makes me want to just stay in and watch One Piece all day. **

**Enjoy!**

_Fever_

He had been reckless on the job again and had gotten himself injured. Zoro had a terrible habit of getting wounds that would cripple a normal man, but not tell anyone he was hurt. The cut he had received this time was deep and had been left untreated long enough to get infected and give Zoro a raging fever.

Robin had noticed that he looked a bit flushed and tired earlier in the day and had asked if anything was wrong. He'd replied that he had just strained himself a bit too much during training and just needed a nap. A couple of hours later, he had gone into the kitchen to make himself lunch, and the next thing he knew, he was on the floor, he felt like shit and Robin was running over to him, gasping when she saw the state of the injury and bloodied bandages peeking out from his shirt that had ridden up.

She used her Devil Fruit power to help her get him up and to the car and had sped off towards the hospital, where she knew Chopper would be. Robin was a mix of anger and worry, although she managed to maintain her usual calm face. At least one of them needed to stay levelheaded, after all.

When they reached the hospital, Chopper took one look at Zoro and Robin almost felt sick when his eyes widened. Zoro was in and out of consciousness by this time; she highly doubted he was aware of what was going on. The doctors wheeled him away and Robin was left to wait.

About an hour later, Chopper came out looking relieved. "He's out of danger now, if you had brought him to us any later than you did, this could've been a completely different story." Robin felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest.

"However, his fever is still pretty high. We've given him all the care we can for now, the only thing to do is wait for it to pass." "Can I stay with him, please?" Robin asked quickly, a little bit of her worry revealing itself, but only for a second.

"Chopper seemed to ponder this for a moment, looking a bit worried himself. Then after a few moments he smiled at her and said, "I don't see why not!"

She sat by him all night – Chopper had managed to bend the 'visiting hours only' rule, but just this once. – Robin realised that at some point, her hand had found his and held on. Every now and then he would wake up and look distressed and uncomfortable, but going back into his fitful sleep. At one point, he'd woken up and looked at Robin with an expression of anguish and regret.

"Kuina…Kuina I'm sorry.." he said to her, looking heartbroken. Kuina? Ah yes, Zoro had spoken about her a couple of times, but had quickly ended the conversation, indicating that he didn't really want to speak too much about it. So they never did.

Realising that he was having a hallucination that the doctors had warned her might happen; Robin tried to speak to him gently. "Zoro…Zoro it's me." "I'm sorry for-for everything" he choked out. The rest of it was mumbled nonsense. When he stopped to take a breath, he looked at her again. Robin wasn't sure of what else to do, so she spoke so softly it was a wonder Zoro even heard her. "It's okay." Was all she said, as she gave his hand a squeeze. Zoro nodded, and turned away. He slowly drifted back to sleep.

Robin woke up the following morning, still in her chair next to the bed and noticed with relief that while still not completely healthy, Zoro looked hell of a lot better than he did the night before. Just as she straightened up, she noticed that their hands were still gripping each other's.

He opened his eyes groggily. "Hey." He said sounding exhausted. Managing a weak smile, he looked at their intertwined hands. "You been here all night?"

She lessened her grip and smiled back; he was going to be fine, chastising him for being stupid could wait a while. "Well I couldn't just get up and leave, could I?"

**What exactly was Zoro sorry to Kuina for? I'll leave that up to you, dear reader. :)**

**One thing I'm really trying to work on right now for this fic is characterisation, so please bear with me if/when things get a bit OOC. I'm trying! ^^;**

**Reviews make me happy~**


	9. Reading

**Remember when I said some of the chapters wouldn't be in chronological order? This is one of them. I've mentioned in past chapters that Zoro and Robin live together, so this one is set just as they move in with eachother. **

**Enjoy!**

_Reading_

The apartment was filled with boxes, it seemed never ending! At the moment, Zoro and Robin were sorting through some boxes labelled "Books". Robin had five whereas Zoro had one. She opened his box and looked at the books inside.

"Zoro, all these are about sports, haven't you got anything different? It all seems a bit…Monotonous."

He thought for a moment. "I'm pretty sure I have a history book somewhere.." He said, taking the box from her. "Aha! Found it!" He grinned, taking a thick book out and handing it to her. She sighed when she saw the title.

"Kendo Champions from 1930-2010?"

"It's good."

She put it to one side. "I'd be very happy to let you read some of mine, you know. Anytime you want to read one, just ask." Zoro frowned, "Sorry, but I prefer being told stories."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself." And that was the end of the conversation.

By the end of the day, they had managed to unpack the majority of the boxes. Using her devil fruit power to help them out for such a long period of time had taken its toll on Robin, however, and she was exhausted. As she walked into their room to go to bed, she saw Zoro sitting there, looking a bit unnerved. He seemed to be sitting as far away as possible from what she recognised as one of her books.

"Oh? I thought you preferred being told stories?" She said with a smile.

"I-I just thought that one looked interesting, that's all." He said indignantly. "I never want to even touch that thing again though! Why the hell do you keep such a freakin' scary book around anyway?" Puzzled, Robin went over and looked at the title. "_Tales from Thriller Bark" _it said.

"Ah, how unfortunate for you to pick this one up first. It was a birthday present from Brook last year. I think it's wonderful, although I have to admit, some of the stories in here also frightened me quite a bit." She tucked it away in the drawer in her bedside table. Maybe she'd read it herself later.

"Whatever. I hope that's not what all your other books are like." He said, eyeing her warily. "Oh goodness no, I hardly have any horror books. It makes me happy to see you're taking an interest, though." She smiled again and kissed his cheek.

As they turned the lights off and said goodnight, Robin felt Zoro slowly but surely shuffle closer to her, up until the point where she was sure there was no space whatsoever left between them. Trying hard not to laugh, she turned her head and saw his eyes closed, but the usual Zoro-scowl on his face. "How cute," she thought. "He's annoyed at himself for being scared."

"Would it help if I turned one of the lights back on?"

"Shut up!"

**These chapters unintentionally morph into random Zoro abuse, I swear.**

**Until next time, my dear readers :)**


	10. Coffee

**Funny little chapter I thought of when I should've been doing my homework, enjoy!**

_Coffee_

It was one of those days Robin really did love. It was a Saturday afternoon and she was currently sitting on the couch, sipping coffee with her friends and enjoying being completely carefree for the moment.

The current topic of conversation was their other halves.

"I love him to bits but Sanji really can piss me off sometimes." Nami said. "It's very lovely having a chef fawn over you but every now and then he can completely forget the meaning of 'personal space'."

"At least your husband's actually around the house most days" Vivi replied with a sigh. "Kohza's just obsessed with his work lately. It's even worse when my Dad comes over for dinner. Because they work together, you'd think there wouldn't be much to talk about, but the conversation for the entire evening is about work!"

"Ace is fine when it comes to those things, but oh God, with the amount he eats, sometimes I feel like I'm grocery shopping for a bear rather than my boyfriend." Nojiko said as she drank her coffee. "Don't even get me started on when Luffy visits, people actually pity me at the supermarket, thinking I'm a mother of 10 or something."

They turned to Robin. "Come on Robin, you must have a ton of stuff to spill about Zoro." Nami grinned. Robin thought for a second. Yes, Zoro did have his faults, and she knew them, but she was searching for one that they either didn't know or at least one that could measure up to the complaints she had heard so far.

"He frowns far too often. I've told him before that he has a lovely smile, but for some reason he seems content just glaring at most people."

"That's it?" They all looked at her, unimpressed. "Surely there must be something that reeeaalllyyy ticks you off, Robin-san!" Vivi whined.

Suddenly, they heard the shower that had been running stop. After a few moments, Zoro came out into the hallway in just a towel.

"Oi, what happened to my underwear? I can't find-WOAH!" Poor Zoro had completely forgotten that they had company, and unfortunately for him, his towel chose that moment to slip off and fall to the floor.

Nami facepalmed. Vivi gasped and turned bright pink. Nojiko burst out laughing. Robin wasn't quite sure what to make of it all as she watched her fiancée scramble around for his towel and quickly rush back into the bedroom, yelling obscenities and something along the lines of "no warning whatsoever" and "damn women".

Still laughing, Nojiko looked at Robin and winked. "We can see why you had no complaints!"

**This one was incredibly fun to write, Zoro's lucky that despite all his embarrassing moments, Robin'll be there to console him afterwards.**

**Oda has said that Coffee is Robin's favourite drink, so I thought "Meh, why not? Let them drink coffee!" And it was done.**

**AcexNojiko is indeed a crack pairing, but I'm very fond of it, hehe**


	11. Swim

**Hello there, dear readers! I was going to write a wedding themed chapter, since it's Valentines Day tomorrow (or today, depending on where you are), but my brain wouldn't let me come up with a decent way to write it, so here's this chapter instead.**

**Enjoy!**

_Swim_

The sun bore down on the group of friends as they enjoyed their summer. They were all on holiday together, staying for a week at Vivi's summer home in Alabasta. Everyone was currently relaxing or playing by the pool, and helping themselves to the delicious snacks and drinks Sanji had made. It really was the perfect day.

Well, maybe for some more than others.

Robin sat on a deck chair under the shade of the parasol, a book in one hand and a refreshing drink in the other. She felt so relaxed, but even the drink and shade didn't do much for how hot she felt every now and then. She glanced at her friends in the pool, Usopp and Franky were playing some sort of ball game with Luffy Chopper and Brook, who'd donned inflatable armbands and rubber rings so they could have as much fun as everybody else. Zoro and Sanji joined in from time to time, even Nami and Vivi jumped in whenever the heat got too much. Robin felt a twinge of jealousy. Even if she did put aside her pride for a second and wore inflatables, there would still be this small fear in the back of her mind, reminding her that she could very easily sink like a rock. Of course she would never admit that, so she just smiled sweetly at them and carried on reading.

When they all took a break to have some of the barbeque Sanji had prepared, Zoro noticed Robin fanning herself every now and then.

"Oi, why don't you cool off later with us? Luffy bought about a dozen armbands with him, lord knows why. I'm sure it'd be okay if you borrowed a pair." He said quietly to her. Not that he needed to, what with the racket everyone else was making.

"Oh, I really couldn't. Don't worry about me though, I'm completely fine." She said calmly, and carried on eating. Zoro eyed her suspiciously for a second, and then carried on eating as well. He hadn't missed the little wistful looks she'd given them when they were in the pool, and knew that deep down; she really wanted to go in.

Everyone within a two-mile radius welcomed the quiet later on as the boys went and took naps, attempting to regain some energy for more games when they woke up.

Robin took this chance to slip outside and sit by the pool, dipping her feet in and sighing at how cool the water felt. At least if she did this now, there would be nobody to try and persuade her to go all the way in.

"Having fun?" Said a familiar voice behind her.

She looked at Zoro and smiled. "I thought that you of all people would be taking a nap right now."

"For once, I wasn't that tired." He said with a shrug. He indicated to her paddling feet. "Thinking about going for a swim now?" When she didn't answer him, he felt bad, but then had an idea. He picked her up and strode over to the steps leading into the pool.

"Zoro, what on earth are you doing? You know just as well as everyone else that I'll sink if I go into that water." She said, her voice rising a bit, eyes widening slightly. "You won't sink if you hold on properly." He said to her with a roll of his eyes.

He slowly stepped into the water, and noticed how Robin's face stayed completely neutral, but her grip around his shoulders tightened ever so slightly, and when the water went past her shin, she tensed up.

"You've…never been in a pool?" He said softly. She shook her head. "I ate the Hana Hana no Mi when I was so young" she explained. "If I ever was taken into a swimming pool, I certainly don't remember it." Zoro felt a little bit sorry for her. She'd been missing out on one of the best parts of summer!

When they were both fully in the water, Zoro let go of Robin's legs so he could hold onto her waist and gently swam around. He felt this tremendous happiness when he glanced at her and saw how happy and content she looked. They carried on like this for a while longer, just gently swimming around the pool, then Robin indicated that she'd like to leave. When they were back onto the tiles, she reached up and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thank you." She said to him with a warm smile. He took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze in response. They walked back into the house, hand in hand, where the tell-tale crashes and bangs indicating that their friends had woken up began to make their appearance.

**This one stemmed from my combined thoughts of wanting summer to hurry up and random thoughts about how Devil Fruit users can't swim. I dunno.**

**Zoro can be a gentleman when he wants to be!**


	12. Cry

_Cry_

"Okay Robin-san, on the count of three, you need to push. One, two, three!" The midwife ordered.

Robin pushed, Zoro howled as her grip on his hand almost crippled it. A few seconds of silence and then what seemed like the most beautiful sound in the world to the two parents, rang throughout the room. A newborn's cry.

A couple of minutes later, Robin was cradling her tiny son – smiling as she noticed his head of dark green hair- while Zoro looked at the two, feeling damn proud of his little family.

"Do you want to hold him?" Robin asked, holding the baby out to him slightly. Zoro began to stammer as a million fears of what might go wrong entered his head. "Um, I-I really don't think th-that'd be a good idea.." He trailed off as Robin raised an eyebrow and slowly began to shift their boy from her arms to his. She gently instructed him on how to support the head properly, and Zoro was quickly amazed by how small the infant was.

It suddenly hit him. He was a father. This tiny, beautiful little person in his arms was his child, and it was Zoro's job to protect him and love him.

He didn't even realise he was crying until he felt his wife's soft hand wipe away a couple of tears that had spilled down his cheeks. He quickly scrubbed them away and looked up at her, grinning. Robin smiled back, her blue eyes shining with love towards her boys. "Don't tell me I have to take care of two cry-babies now?" She joked.

Zoro finally understood how the Ero-cook had been so besotted with his and Nami's daughter when she had been born a few months ago. Whenever his little girl was around, Sanji looked like Christmas had come early. Zoro had snorted at his behaviour and shook his head. Sanji had merely shrugged –Instead of starting a fight, which surprised the hell out of Zoro- and had given him a knowing smile. _"You'll understand when yours arrives, Marimo."_

They sat there in peaceful silence, occasionally broken by the baby's cries. It really was a moment worth cherishing.


	13. Goodbye

**This one is very sad I'm afraid, but once I had the idea I just couldn't let go ^^;**

_Goodbye_

She passed away just a month after her sixtieth birthday. Some had tried to console the family, saying that she had lived a good, long life. Zoro disagreed. Life had been cruel to Robin the first two decades of her life; she deserved far more than just sixty years. It was too soon.

She hadn't died out of the blue. She'd been ill for ages, and they both knew it was coming. He remembered her lying in the hospital bed, giving him a humourless smile. "_It was only a matter of time, I guess, until bad luck caught up with me again." _

The funeral was a simple burial, whilst everyone wept, Zoro remained dry eyed, but anyone could see he was hurting more than they could imagine, and that he was never one to cry in public anyway. He felt his chest tighten as he remembered that not all their friends could be there, as they had lost Sanji just a year ago. Zoro almost smiled at the thought of the Ero-cook greeting Robin as he always did when they were young, bounding over with hearts in his eyes, presenting her with an elaborate drink or snack while yelling some crap about his precious "Robin-chwan".

Zoro had never been one to believe in things like God or heaven/hell, but he found himself hoping for a moment that it all did exist, just so he could fully believe in that image of the cook taking care of his wife up there in the clouds.

Slowly, the mourners left, offering Zoro and the rest of the family their condolences. Soon it was just he standing in front of her grave.

He stared at the headstone for a long time. Finally, all he was able to say was "thank you." It was a thank you for everything, every time she had saved his life; every time she had made him smile and laugh; the joy she had brought him just by being there.

"Dad? It's time to go." Their son's sad voice brought him out of his thoughts. "I'll be there in a moment, you go on ahead." He said quietly. As the footsteps got further away, Zoro took his own little offering out of his jacket. Everyone had laid flowers down on the grave; roses, lilies, tulips. Zoro smiled at the flowers he had brought, one last little private joke between himself and Robin.

He laid down the Thistle and Casablanca that were tied together by a small black ribbon, and was amused at how it stuck out amongst all the others.

"Goodbye." His voice so soft he barely heard it himself. Kissing his fingers and pressing them for a moment against her name, Zoro turned and walked back to his family.

**Imagining Zoro as an old widower breaks my heart, I'll make it up to you all with a funny/cute chapter soon!**

**The Thistle and Casablanca are references to an interview with Robin's voice actress, where she was asked which flowers she thought the Mugiwara crew most resembled. She answered that Zoro most resembled a Thistle and that Robin resembled a Casablanca Lily, which is kinda accurate if you think about it, haha. **


	14. Stubble

_Stubble_

For a while now, Robin had noticed a slight change in Zoro. Nothing to do with his personality, but rather…his face.

They were sitting down at dinner one evening when she finally decided to bring it up.

"Zoro?"

"Mm?"

She cleared her throat quietly. "Is your razor broken? I've noticed that you haven't touched it in a while." He looked puzzled. "No it's not, why?" Ah. So it was as she feared.

"It's just that you've been growing your facial hair lately, I assumed you'd broken your razor." Did he look smug for a second there? There were times when Robin didn't understand him at all. She had to hear what this was all about.

"Yeah, I decided to let it grow out a bit. Luffy nearly killed himself laughing at it at work today, and that Smoker bastard gave me a weird look, but what the hell do they know? I actually think it doesn't look all that bad."

This wasn't good. Robin had to say something, even if it meant hurting her fiancée's pride. For a moment, she mulled over how to break it to him, but decided that the best way to do it was to just be honest.

"Dear, it looks awful."

He stopped eating and looked at her as if he had possibly heard wrong. "Eh?"

"It just doesn't look good. Because your hair is green, it gives your face an almost...mouldy appearance. And this morning when you kissed me goodbye it scratched slightly, I didn't enjoy it." She immediately felt guilty as she saw how her words clearly damaged his ego more than she had anticipated.

Zoro quickly tried to hide any signs of sulking, but his face was still a bit pink from embarrassment. He hurriedly finished his food, thanked her for the meal and went into the bathroom. Robin sighed. She didn't want to be cruel, but it was either that or marry a man with a hairy green face which felt like Velcro.

A little while later, he emerged from the bathroom, all traces of stubble gone from his face. Robin put down the book she was reading as he strode towards her, took her hand, and pulled her up into a heated kiss. When they broke apart, he leaned his forehead against hers and smirked. "Scratch you this time?"

"That's what you were worried about? I would have thought you'd be more upset over how it looked." She said, raising her eyebrows. "Like I care about that." He muttered as he leaned in to kiss her again.

**Here's some fluff, hopefully it made you guys smile. ^_^**


	15. Question

**This one is more of an interaction between Zoro and his son, but the child's Robin's so I guess it counts, right? RIGHT?**

_Question_

It was a dark, rainy Saturday afternoon, and all Zoro felt like doing was sleeping on the couch for a few hours.

His five-year-old son, however, wasn't going to let it be that easy.

It felt like only a few minutes had passed when he felt a tiny finger prod his cheek. "Dad? Daaaaaad. I wanna ask you a question."  
>Zoro turned away, grumbling something about coming back later.<p>

The little green-haired boy scowled, looking alarmingly like his father. "No, I wanna know now!" Sighing, Zoro sat up and rubbed his good eye. The days when he could nap for as long as he wanted to were long gone; instead they had been replaced by running after a hyperactive child who asked about ten questions every few minutes. If the boy wasn't the spitting image of him, he'd be wondering if Luffy was the real father.

"What did you wanna ask?"

"Where do babies come from?"

If Zoro could have just crawled into a hole somewhere, he would have. It was too early for these questions, right? Why couldn't Robin have been asked this? Ah yes, Robin. Always there to save the day when he couldn't, or really didn't want to answer an awkward question. "Why don't you ask your mother?"

"I thought about that, but then I thought that she might tell me something really long and boring and use big words so that I get all confused. So I want to know from you." The boy grinned. Zoro felt like facepalming. He did have a point there. If this explanation were left to Robin, she might be too blunt and scar her son's poor little mind. Wanting to protect the boy's innocence for a while, Zoro realised it was up to him.

"Um, well, you see.." He began awkwardly. "When a Mummy and Daddy love each other a lot, sometimes they make a baby together." "Do they go to the kitchen and do it? Like making a cake?" Zoro nearly choked on his own spit. "No, no, it's definitely not like making a cake..They kind of…hug in a special way."

The little boy thought about this for a second, then looked up at him in horror. "But I hug Mummy and Auntie Nami and Auntie Kaya lots! I don't want to have a baby with them!" "No, it's not like that! Only when a Daddy gives a Mummy a special hug and kiss does a baby get here, understand?"

A frown as he thought about this for a few more moments. Zoro nearly exhaled in relief as the boy seemed to accept this, thanked him, and ran off to find a new game to play. "Thank goodness that's over." He muttered as he lay down and attempted to go to sleep again.

** _A few weeks later_**

"I think tonight went quite well, don't you?" Robin smiled as her and Zoro cleared up the dishes from the delicious dinner they had just shared with their friends. Zoro cringed as he heard Franky, Usopp and Brook start up a ridiculous song in the living room. "Unless you count what we heard just now, then yeah I'd say it's been a pretty good evening." He put an arm around Robin and leaned forward to give her a kiss. "The food you made was really great too, why don't we have it more often?"

"Because it took me 3 hours to prepare." "Oh."

Just as he kissed her, they both heard a gasp from the doorway. Their son stood there, eyes huge. He suddenly bolted from the kitchen and into the living room. Zoro and Robin looked at each other, completely confused. Their confusion turned to horror as they heard a yell from down the hall.

"EVERYONE! My Mummy and Dad are making babies in the kitchen!"

**Let's just say everyone's reactions were fairly hilarious. Especially Sanji's.**

**I just wanted to thank you guys again for the lovely reviews I get for this fic. They really make my day and it's so awesome when I find that people are actually enjoying what I write. ^_^**


	16. Maid

_Maid_

Zoro was armed and ready. Not with his usual swords, but with a mop, duster and a bottle of surface cleaner.

"Shouldn't be too difficult."

Those thoughts quickly vanished as he realised how hard it was to make sure everything was perfect. "This is ridiculous." He thought as he fought to make sure every speck of dust was gone from all surfaces in the house, including Robin's huge bookcase, which Zoro quickly developed a hatred for. "Damn woman with her damn bookcase with its damn tiny corners…" He muttered, trying to make sure it was spotless.

Thanks to Robin, their bathroom was always quite clean, but he went ahead and spent the next half hour making sure it was spotless anyway. (Only to avoid her wrath if she found out he had skipped it.) The kitchen and dining room was another thing altogether. They'd had company for dinner last night, and unfortunately Luffy had been slightly more hyper than usual. There were stubborn stains in various places all over the kitchen from when he had tried to help bring the food in (And had been promptly kicked in the head by Sanji, to "save Robin-chwan's wonderful food") and god knows what stuck to the carpet in the dining room, a mix of contributions from everyone, unfortunately. Zoro took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of his nose and counted to ten. "This would be so much easier if we still lived in the apartment." He thought in annoyance as he squared his shoulders and faced the hell waiting for him.

A couple of hours later, Zoro dragged himself into the bedroom and flung himself on the bed. "I think I'm done now." His muffled voice said from his pillow.

Robin -glancing at her ankles, which were still swollen- put down her book and ran her hand through his shock of green hair. "Just in time too, the baby's kicking again." She said with a smile. Zoro sat up and put his hand where he saw a tiny ripple of movement. He grinned as he felt tiny feet kick against his hand. " Powerful little thing, isn't he?" Robin winced at a particularly hard kick. "Maybe a little too powerful.." She replied. He leaned closer to her stomach. "Oi, oi. Tone it down a bit, you're not allowed to kick Mummy that hard, okay? She'll get hurt." He said, making the tone of his voice slightly sterner, but still soft. As if the baby had understood him, the kicking gradually got lighter.

Robin looked at her husband, her smile a little wider. "I thought you said the idea of talking to the baby before it's born, what was the phrase you used? Ah yes, 'weirds you out'." "Brat needs to know not to kick his Mother, I'll tell him at least that much." Zoro yawned. "Just don't expect me to start singing or talking in some kind of weird baby voice to him, okay?" She gave a small laugh and stroked his hair a bit more. "It would mortify me beyond belief if you did."

"Hey."

"Yes?"

"How the hell did you not completely exhaust yourself back when you used to spend all day cleaning?"

"By not spending the entire day cleaning."

"What?"

Four arms sprouted out of the bed and waved at him. Zoro, suddenly incredibly irritated at the unfairness of it all, stomped off to have a shower, muttering under his breath about "stupid Devil fruits" and swear words Robin would have to remind him not to repeat around the baby.

She laughed quietly to herself. "Poor thing. I wonder when he's going to realise I could have cleaned anyway without having to move."

**Got the idea for this one when I was having a massive clearout of my room today, which took far too long!*Grumbles* I want a Zoro of my own to do the cleaning..**

**I can't get enough of the idea of these two as parents; it's just too adorable!**


	17. Pet

_Pet_

"For the last time, I said no."

"But Dad! He'd die if we left him alone out here!"

Zoro frowned at the dog his son was clinging to. Usually he liked dogs, but this one was…Not exactly the best of choices for a pet, in his opinion. It was about medium sized, with mangy looking grey fur. It seemed to have this permanent scowl on its face -or maybe that was just aimed at Zoro- and had quite a few scars all over its body, the most prominent one being over its left eye. He wrinkled his nose as the boy nuzzled his face into the dog's neck and hoped that there were minimum fleas.

"What's going on out here?" Came Robin's pleasant voice from inside. She stepped out into the front garden and raised her eyebrows when she saw the dog. "I see you've made a new friend." "Dad says we can't keep him because he's mangy and smells but he's going to die if we leave him now and I think he's perfect so pleeeeeeeeeease can we keep him Mum?" The boy said all in one breath, pleading with his mother.

"The mutt's gotten along just fine until now." Zoro muttered. He then noticed Robin crouching down to look at the dog. His eyes widened as he remembered her fondness for animals most people would run away from.

"He is rather cute, isn't he?"

"Robin-"

"You do realise that he'll be entirely your responsibility, yes?"

"I've already said-"

"I know! I'll never forget to feed him!"

"Wait just a second-"

"I suppose we will have to take him to the vet, just to make sure nothing is seriously wrong with him, and to find out if he belongs to anybody.."

"Is nobody listening to me?"

"Doesn't he remind you of a certain someone?"

"Oi, who?"

Zoro growled in frustration and ran a hand over his face. "I've said it a million times and I'll say it again; the mutt is NOT staying!"

She ignored him and laughed softly as the dog barked happily and gave her hand an affectionate lick.

He sighed in defeat. "I guess he's staying."

The next few weeks passed by in a blur of near constant barking, trips to the vet and slobber and teeth marks on Zoro's shoes. However, as time went by and the dog got used to its new home (quietening down a lot, which was a relief to everyone), Zoro realised that he had actually gotten used to the dog and had started to develop a bit of a soft spot for the mutt. He would never admit it, of course, but he probably decided he actually quite liked their new pet – which had been named Wado Ichimonji, or just 'Wado' for short, much to Zoros amusement- when he saw just how big a smile appeared on his sons face whenever the dog was around.

One evening, Zoro turned to Robin and asked her a question that had been nagging him for a while now. "What made you like the dog so much anyway?"

She put down her book and a thoughtful look came across her face. "Ah, let's see. Well, I suppose I quite like that despite his stubbornness and sometimes short temper, he is fiercely loyal. I also like how underneath the scars and generally rough appearance, he's actually a very sweet dog." She suppressed a laugh. "He actually reminds me of you, dear."

He almost spat out the beer he had been drinking and looked at his wife as if she had just announced that she was a man. "How the hell am I similar to that flea-bag?"

"There are many similarities between the two of you, don't tell me you haven't even noticed that you both have a scar over the left eye and an awful sense of direction?"

" Haha, you obviously think you're some sort of comedian now. And my sense of direction is perfectly fine, I'll have you know." Zoro grumbled. Amused, Robin placed a kiss on his cheek – which turned slightly pink- and smiled at him affectionately. Despite his somewhat rough appearance, she really did love her stubborn, short tempered, but very sweet husband.

**Shameless fluff! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! **


	18. Fireworks

_Fireworks_

It was a warm, summer's night, and everyone was enjoying it by watching the spectacular fireworks display near the beach. For Zoro, however, this wasn't just any normal evening; he was planning on proposing to Robin tonight.

And he was more nervous than he'd ever been in his entire life.

His hands nervously fumbled with the box holding the beautiful ring he'd chosen. He'd spent pretty much the entire evening with his hand in his pocket, gripping the box, wondering when a good time to do it would be. A fancy, extravagant display would most likely mortify Robin (as well as himself) so that was out of the question. He considered for a while taking a leaf out of the Ero-Cook's book and taking her out for a nice evening and putting the ring in her champagne at dinner, but although he fully trusted his girlfriend to notice something like a piece of jewellery in her drink, images of a choking, spluttering Robin wouldn't leave his mind, so he quickly got rid of that plan.

A particularly amazing firework was set off, filled with gold and silver, and it seemed to take up the entire sky for a second. Zoro didn't see that though. All he could concentrate on was the delighted look on Robin's face, and how beautiful she looked as the light from the fireworks made her almost...glow. He shook his head and laughed quietly to himself. "I'm turning into such a sap.."

She turned to face him. "Something the matter?" Fear suddenly gripped Zoro again, what if she said no? God, that would be humiliating. Not to mention awkward when they went home. He glanced at her now slightly puzzled expression, and swallowed the fear. It was now or never.

Nothing had been planned, he just new he was going to ask her to marry him. Zoro wished for a second that he had planned something a bit more eloquent to say, when he realised that he had just gotten down on one knee, held out the ring and had simply said "Marry me."

Robin's eyes widened. A few seconds of silence passed, but to Zoro, they seemed like an eternity. He felt his entire face grow hot as he became aware of the increasing number of people noticing them. He was about to get up and apologise for the whole blunder when he felt her pull him up and throw her arms around him. "Yes." She said breathlessly, as if she'd just been running. As Zoro pulled back to allow her to put the ring on, he noticed that the usually calm expression she always had had vanished and had been replaced with pink cheeks and the happiest smile he had ever seen on her face. This was the happiest he had ever seen her, and it became one of Zoro's goals to see that expression more often.

Another firework exploded in the sky, letting off beautiful violets and greens. Zoro grinned as their friends congratulated himself and his fiancée. It really was the perfect evening.

**Long time no see, lovely readers! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Only three months left at school now, so exam season has- unfortunately- begun. This means slower updates, but hopefully you can bear with me! **


	19. Hostage

_Hostage_

"BWAHAHAHA! It won't be long now before your precious saviour comes to rescue you now, my dear. Just wait; I will soon have my revenge on Strawhat Luffy and Roronoa Zoro for the humiliation they bestowed upon my family! BWAHAHAHA!"

Robin gave him a blank look. Really, how long was Zoro going to take? She was beginning to get bored.

Suddenly, the doors to the old warehouse where she was being kept hostage burst open. Zoro and Luffy ran in, looking around frantically. "Robin!" Zoro yelled. She gave him a sweet smile from the chair she was tied to, and they both looked puzzled, until they saw just who her kidnapper was.

"This is they guy? Isn't there anyone bigger around?" Luffy said, disappointed as he saw that instead of the huge, menacing enemy he had been expecting, there was just a small, mouse-like man with a weird moustache. "There were, but they were dismissed once I'd been captured." Robin calmly replied. Zoro narrowed his eyes at her, then pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. 

"Robin, is there even any Seastone?"

She smiled again. "No, he seems to have tied my hands with normal rope."

There was a pause, and suddenly Luffy burst out laughing, Zoro ran his hands over his face and silently counted to ten.

"O-OI! What the hell's so funny?" The small man yelled, confused by the sudden turn of events. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Zoro growled.  
>"Ah, so you acknowledge my brilliance then, Roronoa, good-" "Shut up, I was talking to her!" Zoro said to the man menacingly. "Of course I- wait, what?" The kidnapper was once again confused.<p>

"Well, you were saying how the last thing you wanted to do today was fill out paperwork, so once I sensed those men attempting to sneak up on me, I figured it would be fun to just give you a break and let you rescue me. You have to admit that it's rather romantic." Robin said, quite amused by the whole situation.

" 'Romantic' my ass." He grumbled. "There's nothing romantic about this at all!" Luffy, having recovered from the giggles, but still grinning, piped up. "Yeah! Zoro was an idiot and got us lost so many times on the way here!" Within seconds he had a large bump on his head, courtesy of his green-haired partner. "Sorry."

"ENOUGH!" The small man yelled, suddenly brandishing a gun and pointing it at Robin's head. Zoro reached for his katana, in case he really _did_ have to come to her rescue. "Why are you all acting as if this is a joke? Don't you know who I am?"

The two men looked at him for a second with blank expressions. "Nope."

The man made a strange face, as if he was constipated, then took a deep breath. "My family name is Nezumi! It's thanks to the two of you that our reputation has been ruined! All my siblings and cousins, jailed!"

A look of realisation passed over Zoro's face, and he glared at Nezumi, who visibly shook at the glare directed towards him. "I remember now. Your family are in jail because you all accepted bribes from various criminals around the city, most of whom the police force had been trying to capture for years. The only thing that saved you was your rat-like ability to sneak your way out of trouble and make it look as if you had nothing to do with it." He began to unsheathe his katana. "Looks like we finally have a reason to throw your ass in jail now."

Nezumi panicked and nudged the barrel of the gun into Robin's head. "Give the Nezumi family a full pardon or else your little girlfriend here dies!" He yelled. "The whole way here, she was practically begging for her life, whimpering like a weak little woman."

Luffy began laughing all over again; Zoro just gave her a withering look. "Really? Do you think you're some kind of actress now?" Robin laughed softly. "The least I could do was play my part correctly."

Nezumi's face took on an interesting shade of purple. "One more word and I'll-!" "Jeez Robin, cut the crap and just put the man out of his misery, I want to go home." Zoro sighed.

Robin shrugged her shoulders. It had been an eventful afternoon, but even she was tiring of the situation now. Two hands sprouted from the chair and quickly untied the rope around her wrists. Another one emerged from Nezumi's elbow and batted the gun away, knocking it to the floor. Luffy and Zoro winced as they heard the sickening crack of many more arms breaking his legs.

As Luffy dragged Nezumi away into the police car, Zoro looked at his girlfriend and raised an eyebrow. "Well? Aren't you coming?" Robin just smiled up at him. "It's traditional for the hero to carry the heroine away from wherever he just saved her from." 

"…Like hell I'm carrying you out."

"It would be terribly romantic of you."

"You saved yourself and you're not even injured. There's no point at all."

"…"

"…"

"Fine, I'll do it."

As they exited the warehouse, Robin looked over Zoro's shoulder at the building.

"What is it?"

"I was just thinking how this moment could have been made better if the building was on fire."

"…I swear I'm going to hide all of those romance novels Nami gave you."

**Oh Robin, only you would turn a terrifying situation into a source of amusement..**

**Really hope you guys enjoyed reading that chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Take care, lovely readers!**


	20. Jealous

_Jealous_

"That Nico Robin…Nose in a book, even during her lunch hour."

"And if she's not reading, she's catching up on paperwork! I don't get it."

Robin puzzled the girls who worked in the gift shop at Grand Line Museum. Why was she not chatty and bubbly like the rest of them? Why did she have such a morbid sense of humour? (When she showed it anyway.) And even though it was understandable that she'd take her job as an Archaeologist seriously, _why _on earth did she never seem to stop reading?

They all sat, huddled around the small table in the cafeteria, watching the beautiful but solemn Archaeologist turn the page of an impossibly thick, old looking book.

One of them giggled as a catty grin crossed her face. "Well, she may be pretty, but that attitude certainly isn't going to get her a decent man."

The others nodded. "I heard that she has a boyfriend, but he's probably all nerdy and stuff, just like her- Oh my god." The girl speaking trailed off, her eyes widening. The rest of them turned around and their jaws dropped at the sight before them.

"He's gorgeous!"

"Look at those arms …"

"The green hair just makes him even hotter..."

"The earrings make him look so good."

"He looks dangerous, I've always had a thing for the bad-boy type."

"I wonder who he is?"

They all whipped out their compacts and quickly checked their faces for any blemishes. Satisfied, the girls turned back around, ready to flirt with the mysterious, green-haired man…But their expressions turned to shock as they saw him approach Robin's table, setting down a couple of home made lunches.

They all strained their ears to hear what he had to say to her.

"You're not as late as I thought you'd be, I'm impressed."

"Shut up, it's not my fault this damn place keeps moving about."

"Of course, dear." She smiled at him. "It's very sweet of you to want to have lunch with me on your day off, by the way."

The gift shop girls nearly swooned as Zoro scowled, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "Well I needed something to do, didn't I? And I kinda wanted to see you...I guess."

Robin blinked for a moment, then laughed softly. "You should have shown me your sensitive side sooner, Zoro. It really is adorable."

Seeing his eyebrow twitch in a way reminiscent to how it seemed to twitch whenever Sanji or a very hyperactive Luffy were around, Robin suppressed another laugh and just smiled warmly, placing her hand over his. "Relax, Zoro, I was joking." She took a bite out of the lunch he made. "This is wonderful…you made this?"

"Don't sound so surprised!"

The girls sat around their tables, feeling slightly dejected.

"Why are the hot ones either gay or taken…?"

"I guess we can only dream now."

"Who would have thought that Robin's boyfriend would be so handsome?"

"He made her lunch and everything, I wish I had a boyfriend who did that!"

Their gazes turned again to the couple, who were now quiet, just enjoying each other's company whilst they ate.

The girls' pouts turned to reluctant smiles.

"I am so jealous of her."


	21. Christmas

**I'm back, and have a new chapter with me! Exams are now over, so hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently now.**

**This one is a continuation of chapter 3, which featured Zoro and Robin as children. (So it's not in the timeline that the other chapters are in, it's just random fluff in another AU.) **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em><span>Christmas<span>_

"Zorooooo…"

"What is it, Luffy?"

"Guess what's coming next week!"

The 16-year-old sighed. He'd become very fond of the hyperactive boy since he'd first shown up at school earlier in the year, but there were times when Luffy tested his patience. A prime example of that was Luffy's recent obsession with Christmas.

Zoro decided to take the sarcastic approach. "I really don't know, Luffy. Enlighten me."

Luffy just grinned at him. "Silly Zoro! Haven't you been listening? It's Christmas next week! You getting anyone a present?"

The swordsman shook his head. "I usually just get a bottle of Sake for Koshiro-Sensei and leave some flowers for Kuina. Don't get stuff for anyone else."

Luffy frowned at him for a second and looked confused. Zoro noticed this straight away. "…What?"

"Aren't you gonna get something for Robin?"

Zoro's face went very pink then and he looked almost outraged. "Wha- how did you- why would I get a present for Robin?" He spluttered.

Luffy just gave him that confused look again, as if it were a simple matter. "Because you two are reeeeeeally close." He said, dragging out the 'really' for emphasis. A mischievous grin crossed his face just then. "And because you like her."

The teenager's face now clashed horribly with his hair. He grabbed Luffy, looking around to make sure nobody had heard their conversation. The street however, was completely empty, save for the odd car or two that drove by. Everyone usually opted to take the bus during wintertime, but it was far too troublesome for Zoro- Most times he tried, he ended up taking the bus going in the wrong direction.

"Where did you hear that?" He hissed, as if afraid someone might overhear. Luffy carried on grinning.

"Nami told me a few days ago, we haven't told anyone else though, don't worry!"

Zoro groaned. He should have known the money-grabbing witch would have been behind this. He had told her that in confidence! "That's what I get for selling my soul in exchange for tutoring…" The swordsman mumbled. He had been in desperate need of help to pass Math, and Nami was the only option he had. Unfortunately, due to Zoro's lack of money, Nami had only agreed to tutor him in exchange for a very big secret of his. Eventually, the poor boy had had no choice, and he ended up telling her of his feelings for his childhood friend. (Also promising a very painful demise if the information EVER got back to Robin.)

"How you two ended up dating, I'll never know." He said sceptically, looking at his carefree friend.

"Ace said that too! He also said her sister's really-"

"I don't want to know!" Zoro cut in quickly. Now really wasn't the time for a perverted conversation about Nami and her sister.

Luffy got the message and went straight back to the point. "So what are you getting Robin for Christmas?"

Zoro's shoulders sagged as he realised that he had no idea.

"I have no idea."

* * *

><p>He had seven days to figure out what to get Robin. Maybe he could try his hand at cooking? After swallowing his pride and approaching Sanji to ask for some baking help, Zoro soon realised that it was hopeless. They spent almost all night in the kitchen of the Baratie, trying to bake a simple tray of cookies until Sanji threw his hands in the air in defeat (after getting rid of yet another ruined batch) and told Zoro to just try something else, because cooking was definitely not an option for him.<p>

Next, Zoro asked Usopp if it was okay if he used the long-nosed teenager's workshop (Which was a small section of the boys garage) to build a small bookcase. Usopp agreed, but paled when he saw Zoro hammer in a nail so hard he nearly destroyed the entire bookcase he was trying to make. The garage was soon a mess of wood and bent nails, and Usopp had to politely tell his friend that this wasn't working out, and that it was his own life on the line if Yasopp ever found any damage to his car.

Luffy suggested meat. Zoro had no idea why he asked in the first place.

Nami suggested expensive jewellery. He took one look at his wallet and laughed.

Chopper suggested sweets or medicinal herbs. Robin wasn't very fond of sweet things, and Zoro doubted she'd have many uses for medicinal herbs.

Franky suggested that Zoro take her dancing. Imagining the nightmare of him attempting to dance, the green-haired boy just shuddered and declined.

Brook suggested that he compose and sing a song. Zoro just gave him a blank look and walked away.

How could this be so difficult? It had even taken him extra effort not to let anyone know whom he was trying to get a present for! Zoro was at his wits end.

* * *

><p>He was sullenly trudging through the snow one day after school when he saw some guys yelling obscenities at Robin. Unfortunately as she had gotten older, perverted comments had been added to the list of verbal abuse she received from some of the townspeople. She kept her head down and in the book she was reading, but Zoro could see her fingers twitching- she was trying so hard to not just sprout a few extra arms so that she could snap some of their bones.<p>

They then had the nerve to knock her book out of her hands and into a particularly slushy, muddy patch of snow, before spotting the livid swordsman and running for their lives.

Zoro glared at them and then bent down to help his friend pick her book out of the pile of slush. He heard her mutter, "It's ruined." Before she straightened up and smiled at him.

"I know who those idiots were, don't worry, I'll have taught them a lesson by new years." He assured her. "Why didn't you just pull that move you did on Franky when he got drunk at that party and exposed himself? If anything, those guys definitely deserve to have their balls crushed."

Robin just smiled sweetly at him; Zoro suddenly heard two blood-curdling screams from further up the road.

"Already done." She said, her smile not faltering.

They both looked forlornly at her book. Unfortunately, it had not been closed when it landed in the filthy pile of snow, and many pages were now blurred, soggy or downright grimy. The smile was now gone from Robin's face; Zoro knew that one of the things which really upset her was when a book was intentionally damaged.

He noticed the title and author on the front, and then had an idea.

Successfully keeping the smug grin off of his face (but with much difficulty) he asked: "So...Any plans for the holidays?"

Robin shrugged and gave him a humourless smile. "Oh, the usual."

Zoro felt a twinge of anger. 'The usual' meant that once again, her uncle would be spending Christmas and New Year's (and the days in between) getting very drunk with his friends in some seedy corner of town, leaving Robin at home to spend the holidays by herself. Luffy, Zoro and their friends had all offered her a place to stay for Christmas, (Nami even tried to drag her out one year) but Robin always politely declined, believing that she would just be a burden.

They walked home in comfortable silence, occasionally making small talk, and wished each other a happy Christmas when they parted ways. But Zoro walked home with a slight spring in his step- He knew exactly what he was getting Nico Robin for Christmas.

* * *

><p>Christmas day finally arrived. Zoro woke up bright and early- for once. He wished his Sensei a Merry Christmas and gave him a bottle of his favourite Sake, and then they visited Kuina's grave together to pay their respects. Usually, he would either spend the rest of the day sleeping or visiting Luffy and Ace, but today was different.<p>

He marched over to Robin's house- getting more and more nervous by the second. Negative thoughts started to creep into his head. What if she didn't like it? What if it wasn't what she wanted? Zoro shook his head. He couldn't afford to back down now. He had to do this.

A few moments after he'd rung the doorbell, she opened the door, looking half asleep. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned. "Zoro? I've told you before that it's fine, I don't-"

"Merry Christmas!" He exclaimed as he shoved the poorly wrapped present towards her.

She looked a bit startled for a moment, and Zoro felt his face grow hot as he realised that he'd practically yelled in her face. "Might as well have chucked the damn thing at her head while I was at it. Stupid, _stupid_!" He chastised himself in his head before noticing that the usually stoic girl had a very similar, uncharacteristic blush on her face too.

"Thank you very much." She said softly as she gently took the present from him.

Zoro tried hard not to fidget nervously as the blue-eyed girl carefully unwrapped the gift (Which surprised him- even _he _was aware of how badly he'd wrapped it, making it seem impossible to open). Her eyes widened as she saw that her present from Zoro was a copy of her book that had been ruined the previous week.

Mistaking her silence for anger, Zoro began to panic- something he hadn't done since he was a little kid. "It's the wrong book, isn't it? I knew I shouldn't have trusted that old guy in the bookshop! I had to ride my bike all the way to Loguetown to find it and I swear everyone that owns a store there is shady as hell. I'll return it if you don't like it-" He abruptly stopped as he felt a pair of soft lips kiss his cheek briefly.

"It's perfect." Robin said with a smile as she pulled back. "You went to Loguetown to get this? On your bike? That's over an hour away, Zoro." Her smile grew the more she thought about it, she was touched that he'd go to so much effort for her.

Zoro couldn't answer her, his face was so red by now that paired with his shock of green hair, he resembled a strawberry, something Robin noticed as she tried to suppress a laugh.

She suddenly realised that they were both going to catch terrible colds if they stayed out in the snow like this any longer. "Would you like to come inside for some food?"

He could only nod in agreement. Robin was beginning to wonder if that was the first time a girl had ever kissed him. Her mischievous side came out and she gently took his hand, leading him inside. Her smile grew as she noticed how tightly he gripped her hand in return. A thought suddenly occurred to her and she sighed at how terrible her manners were.

"What's the matter?" Zoro asked, a small voice at the back of his head nagged at him, saying that perhaps she had changed her mind. He shook his head to clear the thoughts.

"I hope you'll forgive me, it's just that I've forgotten something very important." She said, suddenly very serious. The boy was puzzled for a moment before she gave him that smile- the one reserved only for him, the one that he loved so much (although he would never admit it.) "Merry Christmas, Zoro."

He relaxed and grinned at the girl he cared about more than anything else right now.

"Merry Christmas, Robin."

* * *

><p><strong>That took a ridiculous amount of days to write, I'm really out of touch with this stuff. UGH.<strong>

**You probably noticed one of my other pairings I snuck in there haha. As well as being a SanjixNami fan, I'm also a fan of LuffyxNami! _ (I have so many pairings for this series it's a bit worrying) AcexNojiko also had a teeny mention (somewhat) but I couldn't resist. **

**This chapter turned out to be a lot longer than I expected it to be. Hope you guys enjoyed it!**


	22. Close

**Hello there, lovely readers!**

**Now, before we begin I need to clear up any confusion that might be around; for some reason, the site will sometimes have me logged into my old account 'Kintoki-kun', a lot of the time I'll reply to a review and then realise that I accidentally replied from that account =_= Just letting you guys know that it's not some random person, it's just me! **

**Anyway anyway anyway, on with the chapter!**

* * *

><p><em><span>Close<span>_**  
><strong>

"Ugh...What the hell just happened…?"

Zoro blearily opened his eyes and looked around. He instantly groaned and sat up. His surroundings were white, with no people or buildings. It was neither hot nor cold and didn't smell like anything. He'd been here a few times before when he'd been reckless and had almost gotten himself killed. The swordsman scowled as he realised who he was about to talk to again.

"I didn't think it would be long before I saw you again, to be honest."

He winced at the voice. It wasn't just a single voice, it was a mix of many, so Zoro could never really pinpoint what the thing really sounded like. He turned around and glared at the hooded creature, it's face obscured.

"Say whatever you have to, and make it quick. I wanna go home." Zoro snapped.

"Nice to see that your temper hasn't changed either." The thing replied calmly. It walked slowly towards him. "But this is by far one of the worst things you've ever done to your body, Zoro. Willingly standing there and taking an attack that would kill a normal man instantly?" Its tone had a slightly mocking tone to it now. "Anyone would think that you missed me."

The green haired man snorted. "Like hell I'd ever miss you. And you should know by now that I don't intend to come with you for a very long time. So give up."

"Oh but Zoro," That mix of voices were really starting to grate on his nerves. "You really don't have much of a choice, you know. You were practically on death's door when they brought you to the hospital a couple of days ago, and your condition really hasn't improved much. Everything would be much easier if you just co-operated and moved on-"

"I said I'm not going anywhere!" He growled. "I took that attack in Luffy's place because that Kuma freak would have definitely finished him off, along with the rest of the team trying to take him down, and I was not about to let anyone I care about die out there!" He stepped up to the creature and glared. "But if you think for one minute that I'm willing to completely give up and leave everyone behind, then you're delusional."

The hooded thing stood there in silence for a few moments, which Zoro wasn't sure how to feel about. Everything about this creature made him feel uneasy, especially the fact that it didn't really have a face. He'd caught a glimpse once, but it was just…nothing. No traditional ideas of Grim Reaper style skulls, no toothy demon growling at him from underneath the hood, not even a normal looking human. It was just a dark space, empty.

But the myriad of voices still came out, and that was what unsettled Zoro the most. It made him think that the creature had multiple identities, which was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

It finally spoke calmly. "Let me show you something, Roronoa Zoro."

Their plain surroundings were gradually replaced with a hospital room, and the swordsman's eyes widened when he saw who was in the room- his unconscious body was lying in the bed, connected to far too many machines and drips. Next to him however, was Robin. Zoro watched and felt his chest tighten when she gently reached out and took his hand. After a few moments she pulled away and just sat there again, completely motionless- save for her eyelids threatening to shut every now and then due to exhaustion. She had dark circles under her eyes, and Zoro noticed the small stack of empty coffee cups.

"Damn woman, just go to sleep already, I'll be fine.." He said softly.

"That's your girlfriend, Nico Robin, is it not?" The creature asked, laying a gloved hand on his shoulder, which sent a chill down his spine.

"Fiancée…We're getting married next year." He felt his chest constrict slightly again at that thought.

The creature said nothing for a few moments, but then spoke again in that same calm tone. "It would be best if you moved on."

Zoro turned around angrily. "I told you that I'm not-"

"_Do you want her to keep looking like this then?" _The tone was suddenly harsh and cold, which startled the green haired man. "If you stubbornly stay here and keep putting your life on the line, she's going to be miserable. If you die, then yes, she will be devastated, but she will also learn to move on. She'll get on with her life and be happy. If you stay, she's just going to have to go through this over and over again."

Zoro froze as he suddenly realised that the collection of voices had narrowed down to one, and it was horribly familiar. The creature pulled back its hood, revealing the face of the same woman who was currently sitting by the bed, completely unaware of what was happening around her.

He felt a wave of pure rage overcome him as Robin's face stared, a small smile playing on her lips. "Do you really want me to be unhappy, Zoro?"

The swordsman's fingers curled into the fabric of the cloak roughly as he grabbed the creature, shaking with fury.

"You're going to stop that shit right now, you bastard." He snarled. "Go back to how you were and don't you_ ever _dare to shape shift into her again, or I swear I'll find a way to kill you myself."

The creature used Robin's face to smirk one last time before pulling the hood up again. "Touched a nerve, did I?"

They were back in the white space. The mocking tone was also back, along with the voices. Zoro never thought he'd be happy to hear them again. "Come along, it's time to go, you're so close, so close..."

For the first time since he'd woken up in this place, he smiled. "Sorry, not happening today."

The creature lost its composure. "Did you not hear what I just told you? If you keep putting yourself in danger like this, she's going to spend her life worrying over a man who's more used to his blood being outside of his body, rather than in. Are you really going to be that selfish, Roronoa Zoro?"

Zoro just shook his head and carried on smiling. "I'll tell you a little fact about me and Robin – We don't give up on eachother. I know that even if I'm just inches away from death, the last thing she's going to do is sit there and accept that it's the end. She knows that no matter how much time her work takes up, there is no way in hell I'm gonna turn around one day and tell her that I've had enough, because I know how much her research means to her, and I'm certainly never going to make her choose between two things she loves. That's how it works in our relationship. So if you think it's time for me to go, I'm just going to refuse, because not only have I got a ton of stuff I still need to do with my life, but Nico Robin hasn't given up on me yet."

The creature stared at him (Zoro assumed) for a moment before shaking its head. "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way and just wait for your body to painfully give out."

He smirked. "Guess we'll just have to do that then."

* * *

><p>Another day passed before Zoro suddenly felt a strange pulsing all throughout his body. He shot a triumphant look at the creature. "I'm off now. It's been…Interesting."<p>

The thing sounded exasperated. "I do despise that Tanuki doctor of yours sometimes."

"He's a reindeer." Zoro quickly corrected. He thought he heard a small snort amongst the myriad of voices, but he wasn't too sure.

Just as he was beginning to fade, the hooded creature called out to him. "Oh, and Zoro…Don't think this makes you invincible. Even Nico Robin won't be able to save you from death one day."

Zoro gave it a grim smile. "Wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

><p>He awoke with a slight jolt and found himself staring at the tiled ceiling of the hospital.<p>

Turning his head slightly – shit, that hurt! – He saw Robin trying very hard not to doze off, but was currently losing the battle.

"You look like you've been to hell and back." Zoro croaked out, his throat suddenly parched.

Her bright, blue eyes flew open and all signs of fatigue seemed to vanish as the archaeologist immediately sat up straight. "Zoro, you- when did you- How are you feeling?"

He almost laughed, but considering that his stomach muscles already felt like they'd been through ten kinds of hell, he decided against it. "Like absolute shit, but I'll live."

"…I'm glad." Zoro understood that even if she wanted to fall to the floor and scream for hours, Robin would still keep her composure, as remaining levelheaded was such an integral part of who she was. He detected a slight waver in her voice though, which gave away the relief she was feeling.

She stood up, collecting the many empty coffee cups that had accumulated over the past few days. "I'll just go and tell Chopper that you're awake, he'll be very relieved to know that you're conscious again-" She stopped as she felt his hand hold on to hers.

"Thanks for not giving up on me." Zoro said with a warm smile on his face.

Robin walked back towards the bed and kissed him, careful not to touch any of his injuries. Resting her forhead against his, she whispered with a smile "No, thank you for not giving up on me."


	23. Flowers

_Flowers_

From the moment Robin woke up that morning, it was obvious that it was going to be a difficult day.

Her alarm went off at the usual time, and as she rolled over to turn it off- she instead found herself falling towards the floor. Thankfully, her Devil Fruit power allowed her to cushion the fall, but it did nothing to improve her rapidly deteriorating mood.

Ignoring Zoro's snickering from underneath the duvet- Robin went to make herself her usual breakfast, consisting of toast and a cup of coffee. She frowned when her toast came up completely blackened, even though the settings were how they normally had it, and decided to just have her coffee for the time being.

Now, Robin's morning cup of coffee was essential for keeping her in a good mood. As she opened the pot where she usually kept it…only a few, tiny, brown specks at the bottom of the pot greeted her. They were completely out of coffee.

Hunger now replaced by irritation; she went to the bathroom to take a shower. This didn't help either, as only a few minutes after she'd gotten in, the water suddenly turned ice-cold, and poor Robin gasped and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden change in temperature.

"Oi, you okay in there?"

Quickly rinsing the suds out of her hair and wrapping a towel around herself, she threw open the door and only gave Zoro a glare before marching off to change. Once she was ready, the raven-haired woman left without a goodbye, only slamming the door behind her. The swordsman only raised an eyebrow and muttered something along the lines of "confusing woman".

* * *

><p>The drive to work went without a problem, however, Robin's day just continued to go downhill when she arrived at work. <p>

"Miss Nico! Miss Nico! A group of toddlers have managed to get hold of the artefacts from Alabasta!"

"Miss Nico! We can't find the reports from the research trip last month!"

"Miss Nico! A drunk man has just vomited on parts of the Skypiea exhibit, what should we do?" 

After a morning of nothing but misfortune all over the museum, Robin finally had the chance to hide away in her office with a sandwich and a (much needed) cup of coffee. She settled down in her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation.

"For goodness sake, I'm an archaeologist, not a babysitter.."

Just then, the door opened with a loud bang, causing her to jump slightly and accidentally splash coffee on her white blouse.

"Good afternoon, Robin!"

The raven-haired woman really didn't think her mood could get any worse, but it certainly could, and did. In the doorway stood Spandam, a man who seemed to exist for the sole reason of making her life at work difficult. The sly grin on his face right now made her feel sick.

"What do you want, Spandam?" She sighed in exasperation.

"Now, no need to be quite so stone-faced, I've come with good news! You recall the presentation on the history of Tequila Wolf you're supposed to give to that group of Archaeologists from Alubarna next week? Well, that job is now entrusted to me, so you can stop worrying now!" He finished with that grin she hated so much.

Robin stared at him, trying not to let the shock register on her face. "But...How? You're not even an Archaeologist yourself, or any type of historian, for that matter. And I've been planning that presentation for weeks, how could you possibly give  
>one decent enough within less than a week?" Her hands had curled into fists now. She wanted nothing more than to snap the smug man in two, but managed to keep a straight face- not wanting to let him know that he'd touched a nerve.<p>

He responded by pulling out a small stack of papers in a plastic folder from behind his back – she could clearly see it marked with the title of the presentation she had worked so hard on.

"You're not the only one who does their homework, stupid woman." Spandam sneered before stalking out of her office. "Have a good day!" he called over his shoulder in a mocking voice.

That did it. Within minutes, Robin had packed up her work and was driving home. Like hell she was staying in that madhouse for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>When Zoro arrived home later that evening, the apartment was quiet, and he noticed a small note attached to the fridge:<p>

_I've gone to bed early. There are leftovers if you're hungry._

After eating, the swordsman walked into their bedroom, and instantly knew that his girlfriend was very much awake. The glare on her face was a rare occurrence; something must have royally pissed her off.

"Bad day?" He enquired after a few moments.

Another pause. "Rather awful." Her voice gave no indication that she was angry, but Zoro knew her well enough to know that she was feeling like shit.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, not quite knowing what to do.

"Well," he said as he pulled the archaeologist close. "When the world shoves you about, you've just gotta shove back, I guess."

That got Robin smiling. Even though that attitude really wasn't going to help her in this situation, she appreciated the effort he made- it was obvious how uncomfortable Zoro became whenever he attempted to comfort someone.

Feeling a bit better than she had done all day, Robin was asleep within seconds.

The next morning was considerably better than the previous. There were no mishaps getting out of bed, the toaster was working, they had coffee again (That alone was enough to put Robin in a good mood) and the shower stayed at a comfortable temperature. The only thing that was missing was Zoro. He'd left a note on his pillow saying that he had gone to run some errands, so she didn't think much of it, although the apartment did seem strangely quiet and empty without his usual grumbling and thumping about in the morning.

Her heart sunk a little when she realised that she had to go back into work, but was pleased when she arrived to find that things weren't nearly as hectic as they has been yesterday. She was very surprised, however, to find that on her desk, in a vase was a large bouquet of gorgeous flowers. Almost blushing, she picked up the note tied to them; 

_These probably won't help, but I hope today's better than yesterday._

_Zoro_

_P.S- Don't expect this to be a regular thing._

Laughing softly to herself at how the green-haired man managed to be blunt even through a romantic gesture, she began to work with a small smile on her face.

Suddenly, there was a scream and a loud crash outside.

"Oh my God, Mr Spandam's fallen down the stairs! It looks like he's broken so many bones!"

Robin's smile grew wider, and she made a mental note to thank Zoro for contributing to what was already turning out to be a fantastic day.

* * *

><p><strong>And Zoro enjoyed his 'thank you' very much. cough/**

**That really didn't have much to do with flowers. And the ZoroxRobin only popped up towards the end, so sorry about that! Once I have an idea though, I just can't shake it off.**

**Also, I'd like to give all of you a massive apology for keeping you waiting for a whole month for an update. I've had the worst writers block ever! And it really doesn't help that I also have 10943859385934 other fic ideas in my head, so sometimes 'Moments' gets a little bit hard to concentrate on. Apologies!**


	24. Wedding

**I'm really awful for keeping you guys waiting for so long! Things have been hectic for a while now, as I've recently started University. Also, someone very dear to me passed away a little while ago, so I hope you'll understand my general lack of enthusiasm.**

**I also just realised that this fic has over 100 reviews! That's amazing! Thank you all so much for the amazing constructive criticism and support you've given me over the months, I really don't think I would have continued this without you guys. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Wedding<em>

Zoro's alarm clock went off at 6.30am, rousing the swordsman out of what had been a very good night's sleep. He rolled over and blearily opened his eyes, expecting to see his raven-haired fiancée-

Snoring, drooling,not attractive and _certainly_ not smelling attractive either.

He shot up, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. "LUFFY! Why the hell are you in my bed?!"

Luffy yawned –letting out very meaty breath into his poor friend's face- and looked at Zoro as if they were in a perfectly normal situation.

"I'm your best man, remember? Nami and Sanji told me my job was to not let you out of my sight on the wedding day!"

Zoro scowled, he was going to kill the Witch and the Shit-cook someday.

"Luffy, that doesn't mean you have to be right next to me for the entire day! It's just a- wait, what did you say?"

The rubber man looked at him as if Zoro was a bit simple.

"Your wedding, it's today right? At 11? Did I get the wrong day?"

Zoro didn't reply; he had already sprinted to the bathroom and gotten into the shower.

Luffy knocked on the door, looking confused. "Why are you freaking out now? It's not for hours!"

"There's still not enough time!" Zoro barked back. "I need to get ready and make sure I don't forget a single thing, have you on your best behaviour, double check that Sanji and Brook know the way and that they get there on time with the food and music, and make sure Usopp gets here on time to actually drive us there!"

There was a pause from the other side of the door. "So you admit that you'd get lost then?"

"Don't make me kill you, Luffy."

"Fine, sorry! But all that's not going to take nearly five hours!"

"Do you remember how long it takes to convince Franky to wear decent clothes?"

"Oh."

* * *

><p>"You look beautiful, Robin!" Nami squealed as her best friend finished getting changed into her wedding dress. Robin's smile grew wider as she examined herself in the mirror, her dress really was perfect.<p>

"I'm going to have to send Inazuma a lovely thank you gift for making my dress.." She mused to herself. The archaeologist had heard all the horror stories about things going wrong on wedding days, but was pleased to say that so far, her day had gone without a single problem.

There was a knock at the door. "I'll get it, just in case it's one of the guys and they've been idiotic enough to bring Zoro with them." Nami said with a scowl, remembering her own wedding day where Luffy had _almost _accidentally let Sanji see her before the ceremony.

Robin felt a chill go up her spine when she heard Nami gasp in horror. Her eyes widened as Soran, her flower girl, walked in tearfully, having vomited on her dress.

"I-I'm really, really sorry, Robin!" The little girl sobbed. "The s-skirt fanned out whenever I s-s-spun around so I did l-lots of spins and then I felt sick, I didn't m-m-mean to!" Tears were streaming down her face now; she was convinced that Robin was going to tell her to go home.

Having been momentarily shocked by the state of the dress, Robin shook her head and forced herself to remain calm and think clearly. There was only an hour and a half until the ceremony, leaving them no choice.

"Don't worry Soran, I'm not angry at you." She said calmly, giving her a reassuring smile. This seemed to comfort the girl slightly, as her sobs disappeared after a few moments.

"Nami." Robin said suddenly, giving her Maid of Honour a sharp look. She handed Nami her purse. "Take Soran and drive to the shop where we bought our outfits, and try to find the same dress, if not then just find something that looks good. It shouldn't take very long. Can you do that for me?"

The Meteorologist knew that it definitely wasn't a question.

"We'll be back in 20 minutes."

* * *

><p>Although the past few hours had been stressful, everything was going well so far. Sanji and the waiters from his restaurant had arrived with the food on time, Chopper was in heavy point and helping Brook set up the instruments he would be playing later, Usopp was keeping an eye on Luffy and best of all- Franky was dressed like an acceptable member of society.<p>

It was all too good to be true, of course.

Zoro felt an all too familiar headache come on when he heard Usopp yell, and then the unmistakeable sound of Luffy choking on food.

"Someone help him before he dies, I can't be up there without a best man."

"Zoro, this is bad! He's choking on the rings!"

Oh no. This was not happening.

"Somebody get them out of him! At this rate I'm gonna have to shove Robin's hand in his mouth to put the ring on, Chopper, _do something_!" Zoro roared. He was pretty sure these morons were going to drive him into an early grave; it had all been going so well!

The young doctor already had his arms around Luffy's middle and squeezed hard. They all watched in morbid fascination as after a few moments, the rings flew out of Luffy's mouth and landed…On Usopp's nose.

"Oh gross!" Usopp cried as he quickly slid the rings off his nose.

Zoro would have laughed at how ridiculous the situation was if it he hadn't been on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Great, now there's Luffy-spit and Usopp-snot on the rings." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Everyone looked at the (now slippery) jewellery in disgust.

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a hand grasp his shoulder in what he supposed was reassuring. "You need to relax, Marimo." Sanji said in an amused tone. "Everything's going to be fine."

Despite the scowl he gave the Cook, Zoro did his best to get rid of the stress and tension that was building up. Although he would never admit it- Sanji was right. He had a feeling that things were going to be okay.

Usopp glanced at his watch. "Five minutes, we should get out there and take our places now."

* * *

><p>Everyone was seated, nothing was missing or out of place, and Luffy was behaving. Zoro glanced at his best man, allowing only him to see the little bit of worry he still felt. Luffy grinned at him in return, silently letting him know that everything was okay.<p>

Suddenly, the music began, and there were sighs and soft gasps all around the room as the bride began making her way up the aisle. Zoro turned to look at her and felt his face grow hot. She was absolutely stunning.

Brook played the final note as Robin took her place at the front of the aisle. As the ceremony began, she smiled at Zoro and leaned towards him slightly.

"You look rather smart today." She murmured.

A quiet snort from the groom. "You're not too bad yourself."

"No problems, I assume?"

"…Nah, everything's been fine. How about you?"

"Not a single issue."

"…I swear I saw the flower-girl in a different outfit earlier."

"Shh, dear. We're almost at the 'I do's."

It would be a few more hours until Robin told Zoro the story of how Soran soiled her original dress. It would be at least another decade before Zoro told her the reason as to why her wedding ring had smelt a bit odd when she first received it.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm finally done with this chapter, and just in time for Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year. See you in 2013! (Where I'll hopefully be able to update much faster.)<strong>


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